Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2010 – Results and Photo Gallery

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2010 vintage car race was held August 14th and 15th at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. A field of more than 600 classic race cars took to the track, grouped into 19 different racing classifications.

Formerly known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races or Monterey Historics, the “inaugural” Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is in fact the 37th time historic races have been held at Laguna Seca, although 2010 was the first year under new management.

This year, rather than naming a featured marque, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2010 honored Dan Gurney and the cars he built and drove. Gurney, inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990, is an American icon who personifies an era in international motorsports when race cars were not just fast but extremely dangerous and the men who drove them were the stuff of legends.

Featured race groups at Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2010 are Formula 1, which is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its modern era and showcased cars from the FIA 3-litre Formula that ran from 1966-1983; Bugatti Grand Prix; Trans-Am cars from 1966-1972 and Stock Cars (with drum brakes) that competed between 1959 and 1975.

Graham Wallis of Cedar Glen, California was awarded the Spirit of Monterey Trophy for overall excellence in presentation and performance of his 1929 Lagonda, which raced in the group for Pre-1949 Sports and Racing Cars.

“This is the car we drive,” said Wallis. “We go shopping in it, we vacation in it, we go to the garden center and put plants in it, and four or five times a year we pump the tires up and we go racing. The car is absolutely all original; we’ve traced its history back to the 1930s and found that the body is all original–most of the leather is original, the engine and gear box are all original, and it’s all as it was when it came out of the factory,” said Wallis.

Dennis Gray was at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to document the 2010 edition of the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, which saw weather conditions change nearly every hour. Fortunately this allowed Gray to take many pictures unique to this year, especially the images taken during the heavy fog conditions early in the morning.

Saturday Notes: Sir Stirling Moss was in the Group 1A field with his newly-purchased Porsche RS 61, although misfortune struck Moss on the warm-up lap during practice on Thursday. According to Moss, the Porsche stepped out a wheel onto the grass putting it off the track, albeit without coming into contact with the barriers. A second car, also on its warm-up lap, left the circuit and hit Moss’ RS 61. Sir Stirling was not injured, the car however suffered considerable damage, rendering it undriveable for the rest of the weekend.

John Morton suffered a scary crash when his 1958 Scarab flipped end over end near after coming in contact with another car during the Group 3A race. Both were reacting to spinning cars ahead. Morton went by ambulance to the hospital, where he thankfully checked out fine. The Scarab was totaled, although its owner the Collier Collection reportedly had plans to reunite pieces of it with their original Scarab chassis.

Dan Gurney conducted a public interview and autograph session with fans who were also treated to a special display of Gurney Eagle Racing Cars: Formula 1, Indy cars, IMSA GTP prototypes, Can-Am and Trans-Am machines. “Being here at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is like a step back in time for me,” said Gurney. “It brings back all sorts of great memories.”

A dedicated grid of over 30 Bugattis competed in the Bugatti Grand Prix, with entries coming from as far away as Australia, France, Germany and Switzerland.

Bruce Canepa was doubly successful on Saturday, winning closely-fought battles in Group 5A, driving a Porsche 917K, and Group 7A, driving a Ford Mustang. Canepa’s combined margin of victory was a scant 1.48 seconds.

Fastest lap of the day went to Stephen Johansen, who turned a 1:24.79 on his way to victory in Group 9A driving a 1986 Porsche 962.